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Topic Review (Newest First)

03-09-2007 10:04 AM

farna

Remember, you can bracket race anything! Take that Caterra out to a local track and see what it will do! I've seen a guy put an old Ford Fiesta on the track -- the announcer said he thought he broke a track record at 22 seconds for a 1/4 mile, but he did it!! 16s are quicker than you think! If nothing else you'll have something to go by. The Caterra will be costly to modify much for speed, about the only things you can reasonably do is add a cold air intake and a cat-back exhaust system without upsetting the computer, but those two will help a bit.

I'm an AMC man, but for costs and performance cheap I'd go with a 79-80s Mustang. Lighter and less cramped under the hood than the same year F cars. Second choice would be the G-body. No heavier than a 3rd gen F-body GM, more room under the hood and easier to work on. The earlier Malibu is basically the same body, but a different letter designation... I forget it now! Ask me an AMC question....

If you run across a Gremlin, Spirit, or Hornet with a straight six, and especially if it has a stick shift, you can't get much more bang for the buck and cheap to fix and drive! They weren't very popular as used cars, and were generally cheap for the 2nd/3rd/4th/etc. owners, so were beat to death with little or no maintenance -- used as "throw-away" cars after they were 6-10 years old and more. That's why people seem to remember them as POS cars -- they'd already been beat to death by the time they got them! From the factory they were generally a cut above Pintos and Vegas, at the worst they were no worse than the US competition.

02-27-2007 11:45 PM

KACHINA321

Hey Cris

I also am new to this site. I have also been looking for a site like this for weeks now. I ride a Harley and they have a site that is just like this one.
Good people with lots of great information to be had.
As far as the Vette I don't think that you will find anything near your price range. I think going with the Camaro is a much better idea. E.Z. to work on with a small block and you can do much to them as build ups go.
Good Luck

03-04-2004 05:56 AM

Rubberman2003

Ive got a third gen.

03-04-2004 02:45 AM

Gr8 '48 bow tie

Welcome to our family, where knowledge abounds. Just ask questions and learn. I have no idea what your knowledge of automobile mechanics is but you do have the main quality that it takes, the want to. Since you're just 16, that suggest to me that you are probably still in high school. That being said, let me suggest that you enroll in a trade school upon graduation for auto repair along with body and paint. Since you can not legally get a job dealing with cars until you are 18, you would be setup and ready for entry level into the job field of your choice after you complete the course. JM .02 Good luck to you.

Al

03-03-2004 09:50 PM

FASTCHEVY

Huh. The Autozone over here has replaced the employees with chimps. and I must say I've gotten much better service since then.

03-03-2004 09:27 PM

speedingpenguin

:-o you gotta be 18 to work at autozone around here at least.....
i'm only 16 :-/ haha

03-03-2004 05:55 PM

k2mooch

Hey man, welcome to the site. Get a job at Auto Zone. Good discounts and lots of knowledge. You're gonna need a steady flow of income to get anything rollin'.

Or dad's wallet.

Good Luck

MoocH

03-02-2004 08:47 PM

M&M CUSTOM

Welcome to Hotrodders.com.

For the 3g's and 12 second to work out you could also look into the GM G-body cars (very cheap to aquire, and maintain), and move up to an older Cadillac big block 472 engine (the 500 is also a cheap option).
This combination will get you a decent start on your posted goals.
But this is just another opinion.

03-02-2004 08:33 PM

speedingpenguin

thx for the welcome. lol
I'm back to thinking about third gen camaros.....
inexpensive and easy to find, easy to work on......
I could get a smallblock TPI 350, buy a 383 stroker kit off eBay for 600 bucks....sure, it wont be the BEST quality, but better than nothin.....get some heads, maybe a super-ram intake if i could find one cheap....some ZR-1 replica wheels for 650 for the set....depending on funds, maybe a hood.....
Anyone here have a third-gen?

03-02-2004 06:23 PM

goose

first off, welcome. this is a great place to learn and meet people. pretty cool handle i gotta admit. i'm sure if you hunt around a bit you will find the perfect car, check out oddrodder's crazy rambler. i'm sure not many would consider something like that for a project but i would kill for it. lots of good projects in the albums, have a tour through them, it's worth it. keep posting!
Les

03-02-2004 05:57 PM

speedingpenguin

Thanks for the welcomes...
I should have clarified that by saying i wanted a '12 second car', i didnt mean immediatly....i just dont want to get a car that no matter what you do to it, its never going to turn anything quicker than 14 seconds....lol
I'd be more inclined to go with a 5.0 Mustang GT but theyre pretty expensive to buy for their age and stuff....3k for a stock, OK condition 87 Mustangs a wee bit much IMO....
lol

03-02-2004 05:49 PM

Dutchman

Welcome to the board Chris. Like a lot of us your eyes are wide and your dreams are huge. Maybe you could apprentice somewhere and do it to learn and not the money, that will come later. As for a car, many people spend years finding that "right one" and then find out a couple years down the road another "one". Start with one that is affordable and that both you and your dad can work on. Its no fun to have a car and not afford the parts to fix it. Thats like buying too big a house and not having furniture.

Choices are all yours and in your court.
Good luck.

Dutch

03-02-2004 05:48 PM

Rubberman2003

Well Chris, first off welcome to the site.

Secondly for someone your age that just got there license, at 12-13 sec time slip...well thats a little to much i think. If you end up buying a car, i would do with what you stated, get a car and fix it up, the body, interior, ect ect. If the motor runs good i would use it and maybe mod it up slowly. If you know what i mean. Just make sure you find the right car before you get rid of that hard earned cash my friend

03-02-2004 04:45 PM

speedingpenguin

New to this site, introduction

Hey! My name's Chris and I just joined this site. I came across this site when searching Google.com for information on custom interiors. BTW i'm 16 and live in Massachusetts. Right now my car is a 97 Cadillac Catera (not really my car, but my dad got a new car and gave me the Caddy to fix, the engine wasnt running well, and when I get my own car we will sell it).
I'm not exactly sure what car I want to buy. I've gone through 'stages' of loving 5.0 Mustangs, third generation f-bodies, fourth generation f-bodies, fourth geneartion Monte Carlo SS's, Buick Grand Nationals/T-types, C4 and C3 Corvettes, even a little stage where I wanted a BMW 325is coupe! lol
A few problems though....i've got no job. I've been trying my hardest to get a job detailing cars...tried the dealerships, tried the detailing places, tried everywhere. Cant really find any other job either. Right now I have just under 2,500 saved up for a car....
by selling my goped, nitro R/C truck, and eBaying off some old stuff that I 'took in' from my grandparents old house in Brooklyn NY before they sold it and threw most of the stuff away....pretty much antique plates and silverware, as well as glasses, lamps, etc..
Anyway, by selling all that crap, i'll probably be a little over the 3k mark. Assuming I get a job in the next month or two, by the end of this summer I should have 4 or 5k avalable. What I'm looking for is a project car that me and my dad can work on over the winter. I'm dying to paint my own car, do my own interior work, do my own engine work....pretty much completly build up the car myself and with my dad. Yeah...it takes $, but i dont think it would take TOO much if i shop for the right stuff for my situation....
Also looking for something that will put down a mid/low 13 second timeslip for the quarter mile...12's would be nice.
I'm currently trying to find out if its likely that i'd be able to buy an early C4 Corvette coupe (cant STAND convertables) in rough shape....i wouldnt mind no interior or engine....for under 1500 or so. That would be my first choice. What can you guys recomend?
Want something that looks mean/agressive, has the posibility of handling quite well as well as being fast, insurance isnt TOO bad (My dad would be willing to have it in his name with me as a secondary driver), and is fairly easy to work on. That pretty much rules out even LT1 fourth generation f-bodies cause the engine is tucked so far back...lol
So what can you guys suggest? (No, I no longer am interested in the bimmer, lol)
Thanks,
-Chris